Omega Cal.283 18ct 1951

Omega Watches

Since the company was founded in 1848, Omega has pioneered a huge range of innovations. Britain’s Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches in 1917 as official timekeepers for its pilots and again in 1940, RAF Pilots watches were supplied by Omega. The 1940s also saw the first tourbillon wristwatch and the first of the famous Seamaster watches, whilst the 1950s and ’60s introduced the legendary Constellation, Speedmaster, Seamaster 300 and Railmaster. Over these years, everyone from John F Kennedy to Elvis wore Omega watches on official duties. What’s more, in 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra took his Omega Speedmaster to space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission, and in 1969 two Speedmasters landed on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Description

A beautiful example of a fully original, unrestored and untouched Cal.283 gentleman’s 18ct yellow gold dress watch from 1951.

At 36mm, this is a very large watch for the period and so is considered an Oversize watch by the standards of the time. This watch has seen lots of care and very little use and is therefore in superb condition. It also features a fully original, cross-hair, silver-white ‘3 – 6 – 9 – 12’ dial, but what lies beneath, is a landmark movement in Omega’s development. The Omega Cal.283 was a development of the tremendously successful Cal.30 series movement. This is simply one of the finest hand-wound watch movement designs ever conceived. It is also an important movement in the record books, for its incredible standards of accuracy and reliability attained at all the competitive trials it entered and won. See below.

The quality of its movement and sturdiness of the watch case makes this a perfect hand-wound vintage watch for both evening wear and everyday use.

The Dial

The original, unrestored and untouched cross-hair, silver-white dial is furnished with applied ‘spearhead’ hour indices and ‘3 – 6 – 9 – 12’ standard Arabic numerals, all of which are swept by the original ‘dauphine’ hands. This dial carries some beautiful signs of ageing in the gentle, even spotting and staining that we have tried to show in the photographs.

The overall dial design speaks of a level of quality and confidence, in keeping with the high quality of the case and movement.

The dial simply carries the Omega brand and signature, with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The Omega Cal.283, 17 Jewel movement here forms part of the Omega 30mm series first released in 1939, which was so successful it remained in production until 1963. It became famous for winning first prize ‘for Precision’ i.e. accuracy and reliability, at the Kew Observatory trials in 1946 and went on to win back to back 1st prizes at the worlds most competitive trials in Geneva and Neuchâtel throughout 1947-1951. It not only beat all comers, including Patek Philippe, but also relegated Omega’s own Tourbillon movement to second place! The continued success of this calibre was due to its precision and resistance over time, its easy regulation and the simplicity and logical design of the movement that made it a favourite of watchmakers.

The movement has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker and the watch therefore winds, runs and sets smoothly and is keeping excellent time. Following its service, it has been calibrated and is currently running arrow straight at -10 seconds/day! This excellent for any watch of this age and has been verified on our electronic timegrapher instrument. The watch also has an excellent power reserve of 45 hours. We are therefore more than happy to offer 12 months warranty on the movement of this watch*.

As can be seen, this beryllium-bronze movement looks spectacularly pristine, having been well cared for and properly maintained. It is marked  ‘Omega Swiss’ and ‘17 Jewels’ with the serial number 12075386 which dates manufacture to 1951.

*Please note, our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.

The Case

The high quality Omega Swiss made 18ct yellow gold case measures 36mm in diameter, excluding the Omega signed winding crown. This makes this an exceptionally large wristwatch for the period, when typical sized watches measured only 32 or 33mm diameter. The case is of a sturdy three-piece construction with wide bezel and strong lugs.

After a close inspection, the watch case has simply required a careful clean and a gentle polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition. The case, the case-back and bezel are all in superb condition with almost no marks visible to the naked eye, indicating this watch has been very well cared for.

The case-back is of full thickness and has never been inscribed. It is also tight-fitting and presses back with a pleasing and reassuring ‘pop’.

The case was made for Omega by Dennison in the UK who made watch cases for many of the top Swiss watch manufacturers at this time. Dennison and Sons in Birmingham and Shackman and Sons in London, both produced top quality cases for almost all of the watch brands you see on this website. As this case was made by Dennison & Co it is of exceptional quality.

Inside the case-back, all is correct and as expected; Signed ‘Dennison, ‘Made in England’ and ‘A.L.D’, with the case serial number 393150 and the model number 13302, along with 18ct Swiss Geneva hallmarks.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The strap fitted is a high quality tan ostrich strap, with a Omega gold-plated buckle which we feel contrasts nicely with the watch. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock, in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish, here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1951.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided, along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with an Omega presentation box as shown in the photographs.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a first-class example of a highly collectable and highly practical vintage gold watch from one of horology’s most famous names which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to use, wear, treasure and enjoy! This will make an excellent evening wear dress watch as well as a practical highly accurate and reliable timepiece to use on an everyday basis.

Vintage Omega watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong. This watch will make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece and even though vintage Omega prices have risen markedly recently, we feel fine examples such as this still remain undervalued. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches expands, availability will become more limited so prices are surely destined to climb ever higher!

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you